Merciless Killer
by Muffins Planned
Summary: "Don't feel mercy, don't get weak, kill as soon as you get the chance to" was one of the last things Cato's mother said to him before he volunteered as a tribute in the Hunge Games. He did not have a choice.


An unedited story about Cato. It was written very quickly, so I apologize that it isn't very... great. Anyway, I was thinking about careers, their lives, and what motivated them to volunteer in the games, and this was it. Hope you enjoy :)

* * *

My legs burned as I pushed myself harder, making my feet reach longer and quicker. Behind me I could hear the panting of someone else, I didn't dare to look around and see who it was. It would make me lose time, concentration. I tried to focus on my breathing instead.

I could see the end line in the distance, appearing in the clearing. Only two hundred feet left. I tried to find the last of my strength in the core of my bones, pushing myself to cross the finish line.

First.

"Good job, Cato, keep it up and you'll be the one going this year," my trainer said, rubbing my shoulder. The Hunger Games, the only chance of a good life for me and my family. We all knew that this was our only shot at it. Few people grew up poor in 2, but those who did ended up here, with me.

I sat down on a bench, gulping down water as I watched the others cross the finish line. Nate, a burly guy with unruly hair sat down next to me, wincing in disappointment.

"I was right behind you." He shook his head, hanging it low.

"Can't beat the best" I said, shrugging. He laughed.

"Well, we still have arm strength left," Nate said.

"I'll beat you there, too," I said confidently. He rolled his eyes at me.

"We'll see, but in two months it will be my face up on that screen, with the announcement that Nate Shepper is the 74th Hunger Game's victor. I'll let you come visit me at my house." Nate pushed my shoulder lightly before walking off.

From the outside my house I noticed the scent of my favorite dish being cooked coming from inside. I bounced up the steps to make sure that it was correct, and there my mother stood with her worn smile and tattered clothes, stirring a pot filled with the wondrous orange colored sauce.

"You've made holly stew?" I drew her into a hug, burying my nose in her hair. She smelled the same as she did when he was younger; lavender and spices

"They said you did good in tryouts today, so they came by with the ingredients," she explained, her face becoming sour. That's how they did it, lured us in with food, made us dependent. They knew we needed their help. So when we did good we were rewarded, when we were bad we suffered. Those who came in after me in the race wouldn't come home to a stew, and the last person in would probably meet a beating.

"If I do good with strength I'm going to be the one going in," I said, trying to be causal. It didn't work.

"Cato, oh I wish I had been able to keep you from signing up eight years ago… you should've talked to me first" she hid her face in her hands. "Please, Cato, I need you here far more than I need a house in the village."

"We'll starve, Mama," I said. We'd starve just like everyone else who were as poor as we were. Being a descendant from a rebel wasn't easy, and it wouldn't go unpunished.

"I'd rather that, then see you die." I shrugged out of the hug she tried to give me, stomping off to sit in the chair by the window. Outside the sun was shining down on the ground, bringing it to life for the summer. Their small village was where most of the ones who were descendant from rebels lived. It was one of the two places where there was a training centre. It was hidden in the woods, as if a disguise was needed, and it was the only way for a young child of a rebel family to feed themselves.

"Cato," she whispered in my ear, her voice so sympathetic, making me feel guilty. "I just want you safe here with me."

"It's no safer here now than it is in there." I wished she would understand that I only wanted to give her the world. I wanted to give her a place where she would never worry about food again, worry about what everyone thought about her, she would suffer no verbal abuse on the street, she would be able to work if she wanted to, she would be able to buy new clothes, take a shower, relax… but most of all she would have the energy to smile like she used to when he was younger. She was so young when she had me, like most rebel family girls. Without a husband, boyfriend, anything. A young woman trying to feed her family, and ending up adding one more.

"Cato," she sighed, hugging me. She was so lithe, it was like a child hugging a man, not a mother hugging her son. "I love you."

"I love you too, Mama."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

When the final scores for tryouts where put up on the board I looked to Nate to try to cope with the shock, needing someone to talk to. This was huge, more than huge. I would be going to the Capitol this year, I would be able to change my life. But instead of a congratulating smile I was met with a stone cold stare. Hatred. We all knew that look, we'd been given it by everyone in the district, wherever we went. Everyone knew how to spot a rebel child.

"Nate…" I tried to say, but he only turned away from me. This had been our only shot at happiness. They had to go back to their homes, they wouldn't be invited to the reaping. There would only be people there who would never have to risk being in the games, there were always someone who needed to take their place. I wondered if they ever thought about what it would be like to risk being reaped, to risk entering the games where it was either kill or get killed. I knew I wanted this badly enough to kill. I would kill president Snow if I had the chance, if it would make my small family's life any better. No one would stand in my way.

This time it would be me and a girl named Clove from the other training center who would go in. We would fight, I would win. There was no other option. I needed to for my mother.

"Mama," I said just before I left the house to take the train to where the reaping would be. I was standing by the door and she was watching me with an expressionless face. "I love you mama, and I'll see you in a few weeks again, okay?"

"I love you Cato, so much more than you will ever know," she said and she ran across the room, throwing her arms around me. "Fight, Cato, kill everyone who stands in your way." The tone in her voice put me on edge, it was a demand I thought I would never hear my small and kind mother say. "Don't feel mercy, don't get weak, kill as soon as you get the chance to."

XOXOXOXOXOXO

When I see her on screen I know immediately that she's a problem. District 12, there is a fire in her eyes and though her body looks just as malnourished as district 12 tributes usually are, I can see that she is strong. Not a threat, but a problem. One more kill that will be a bit harder to manage.

Though, after the Chariot Rides where everyone went crazy over her, I could see it. A beautiful girl who sacrificed herself for her sister's sake, making the games a bit more exciting. It means trouble though, it means that she needs to get killed the first day in there. The longer she stays alive, we all know she's a threat.

Clove, the beautiful Glimmer, and the tool Marvel from district one all agreed on that 12 was a threat It only became more clear as the days passed. It was obvious that she didn't harbor much of the respect that the others had instilled in them, the fear of them not fazing her at all. It was unexpected, it was what she was supposed to feel. She was supposed to quiver and run in the other direction. Instead she stood there steady, meeting my gaze.

I wanted to walk over to her, lure that fear up to the surface so that she'd remember it. But, I was too afraid that it would backfire, it could just as easily betray my own fear of her. She would only sit there with the knots and plants, we all understood that she was hiding something. No one avoided showing their skills unless they were spectacular. No one would go into the games without practicing combat first if they didn't have any experience.

It set me on edge.

I didn't like being on edge.

XOXOXOXOXO

The Cornucopia was slippery under my feet, 12 boy in my arms was heavy, panting, warm against my overheated body. In front of me 12 was aiming her arrow right at us, there was no way out. Two against one. I should have killed the boy when I had the chance. No mercy, Mama told me. I should have done better. Now she'll never live in a house with running water, never be able to afford food the honest way. Was she watching now, holding her breath, knowing that her son was about to plummet down and be fed to mutts? If only I could reach out to her one last time, kiss her rosy cheeks and tell her I loved her. Only one more time.

She would starve without me.

I watched 12 as she watched me. All she saw was a monster, she couldn't understand, didn't want to understand, that no one wanted to be here. I could see it in her eyes, her disgust, hatred, as if she didn't know that this was a game where you kill or get killed. As if I were the one responsible.

I should have known it would have been her, when I watched her on the screen standing on the stage, a fire burning on low in her eyes. She would have always been the one. Always.

* * *

Cato's mother was a prostitute yes. There were some rebels in 2 during the dark days, and those who were rebels were punished, and their families still are.

A review makes a writer smile!


End file.
